Supporting Boricuá Regionalization with Improved Data Systems
Project Sponsor: Organización Boricuá de Agricultura Ecológica de Puerto Rico, Jesús Vazquez and Marissa Reyes
Team Members: Elias Montas, Nicholas Palumbo, Jonathan Buwembo, Ryan Gentilucci
Project Advisors: Martín Cobián and Scott Jiusto
Project Files:
Abstract:
Food sovereignty is emerging as a priority agenda in Puerto Rico. Rising issues such as climate
change, economic instability, and supply chain disruption demand that communities strive for
greater control of their food systems. A great challenge for Puerto Rican
farmers lies in the fact that there are no easily accessed, well-organized data records for farming.
Farmers often find it difficult to access existing resources due to fragmented channels of
communication and scant technological infrastructure.
Without proper monitoring of farm activities, authorities and organizations are incapable of
effectively promoting local agriculture. This gap inhibits the growth of sustainable agriculture and
limits the impact of food security programs. Our project aims to address this issue by developing
a farmer membership system that integrates survey data, maps out farming activities, and
facilitates communication among key stakeholders.
By building a centralized and open database using Google Enterprise Applications such as
Google Forms, Sheets, My Maps, Sites, and Drive, we will support Organización Boricuá de
Agricultura Ecológica to have a more solid network of farmers and enhance coordination. We
hope that by collecting data and mapping we can get valuable insights into Puerto Rico’s
agricultural landscape, improving farmers’ access to information and a more resilient food
system.
